Mangaluru: The Mangaluru railway region has officially moved from the Palakkad division of Southern Railway to the Mysuru division of South Western Railway (SWR), ending more than a century of administrative association with Southern Railway.
The change came into effect from October 1 in accordance with a Railway Board notification issued on August 21. The order transferred the Mangaluru area up to and including Ullal to the Mysuru division, with the interchange point between Southern Railway and South Western Railway shifting from Padil to Ullal.
Operational control had already shifted to Mysuru following preparatory monitoring on September 28 and 29, with railway controllers taking charge before the formal administrative transition.
Mangaluru now under Mysuru division
The Railway Board’s decision covers the Mangaluru railway region, including Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction, along with associated railway infrastructure.
Under the new arrangement, the boundary between the Mysuru division of SWR and the Palakkad division of Southern Railway has been fixed at kilometre 872.900 on the Shoranur Junction-Mangaluru Central section. The interchange point between the two divisions has consequently shifted from Padil to Ullal.
Thokur will continue to remain under Konkan Railway and will now serve as the interchange point between Konkan Railway and the Mysuru division of South Western Railway.
The Railways has cited operational requirements behind the jurisdictional restructuring.
Long-pending demand in Mangaluru
The transfer fulfils a long-standing demand from sections of coastal Karnataka for Mangaluru to come under South Western Railway.
The demand gained momentum after the formation of South Western Railway in 2003, with railway users and representatives arguing that Mangaluru’s railway network was divided among different railway jurisdictions. The Railway Board’s August notification finally approved the transfer to Mysuru, although it stopped short of creating a separate Mangaluru railway division.
Dakshina Kannada MP Brijesh Chowta had welcomed the decision and described it as fulfilling a longstanding demand concerning the region’s railway administration.
Kerala had opposed the transfer
The decision had triggered strong opposition in Kerala, particularly among MPs and railway-user groups in the Malabar region.
Kerala representatives argued that removing the Mangaluru region from the Palakkad division would have a substantial impact on the division’s revenue and could affect railway development in northern Kerala. Several MPs sought a review of the Railway Board’s decision and met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on September 21 as part of their efforts to have the order reconsidered.
The Railway Board, however, proceeded with the restructuring, with the change taking effect on October 1.
The transfer is expected to significantly alter the administrative and financial profile of the Palakkad division. Reports have cited different estimates of the revenue impact, reflecting the substantial freight and passenger activity associated with the Mangaluru region.
Southern Railway reallocates crew
As part of the transition, Southern Railway also began reallocating its running staff from Mangaluru Junction.
According to the reported restructuring, 10 sets of goods train crew were moved to Kannur, while 28 sets were shifted to Kozhikode. Train managers were also reallocated, with 10 moved to Kannur and nine to Kozhikode.
The staff movement formed part of the preparations for the change in jurisdiction and the transfer of operational control.
A century of railway history
The administrative change also marks the end of a long historical association between Mangaluru and the railway system that evolved under the erstwhile Madras Railway network.
Mangaluru Central, one of the few terminal stations in the Indian Railways network, was opened as Mangalore Railway Station by the Madras Railway Company in 1907. The historic Madras-Mangalore railway line connected the coastal districts of South Canara and British Malabar with Madras and played a significant role in trade and movement between the regions.
A milestone bearing the inscription ‘550 Miles from Madras’ continues to stand on Platform 1 of Mangaluru Central.
Mangaluru Junction, meanwhile, was established as Kankanady railway station in 1915. Its importance increased following the completion of the Konkan Railway line towards Udupi in 1993 and the Mangaluru-Bengaluru ghat railway line in 2007. The station was renamed Mangaluru Junction in 2007 and underwent a major facelift between 2023 and 2025.
What changes for Mangaluru
With the jurisdictional change, administrative and operational control of the Mangaluru region will now be handled by the Mysuru division of South Western Railway.
The shift is primarily an administrative restructuring and does not by itself mean an immediate change to existing passenger train services. The impact on future railway projects, train operations and infrastructure development will depend on decisions taken by the new administrative setup.
For Mangaluru, the move brings its principal railway terminals under the same South Western Railway division that serves much of Karnataka’s railway network, while for Palakkad and the wider Malabar region, it marks the loss of a significant portion of the division’s territory and revenue base.
The Railway Board’s decision therefore represents a major change in the railway map of the region, bringing the long-running Mangaluru railway jurisdiction debate to a new stage.